


fragile skin

by ushouldcvllme



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 20:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14961731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ushouldcvllme/pseuds/ushouldcvllme
Summary: donghyuck flinches.mark really doesn't understand why.





	fragile skin

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoy this heh i feel like its kinda good

it surprises mark, because even when they were fighting, he'd never seen donghyuck do something like that. he's pretty sure him ducking away from the (barely) shorter boy's affection is normal. donghyuck likes to persist, though, and doesn't really leave him alone until there's a soft kiss pressed against his hand, or nose, or wherever the 'sun' has chosen in the moment.

he'd smiled when donghyuck had given taeil a peck on the cheek, silently laughing at the 'birthday present'. he watched the younger turn his head in his direction, craning his neck in hopes of landing another kiss on mark's cheek this time. 

he moves away, as usual, and looks at donghyuck, as usual, but there's something different in donghyuck's expression. something that looks like panic, but borders on flustered. he ignores it and moves his hand towards donghyuck's thigh, as usual.

and he flinches. donghyuck flinches and mark feels weird inside because what. 

mark's hand has a natural spot on his thigh, like it belongs there, and he never questioned it, didn't see a reason to. maybe this type of thing wasn't normal between other boys but he was mark and donghyuck was donghyuck. that meant something important, to him at least.

he doesn't expect donghyuck to curl away from him like that, doesn't understand why he did (part of him says he doesn't want to understand it), and he really doesn't stop thinking about it. not when the live ends, not when they leave for lunch, not when they reach the studio.

throughout dance practice, he watches the way donghyuck interacts with everyone. the boy doesn't jump when yuta taps his shoulder, or move away when taeyong pokes his stomach and tells him to eat more. it makes mark feel jealous, and being jealous makes him feel stupid and when the break ends, he throws himself back into practice, allowing his feelings to flow out through his movements.

he smells like an awful mix of cologne and sweat in the end, but he feels accomplished.  he pushes the questions to the back of his head and gives himself a mental pat on the back, missing the way donghyuck's eyes follow his every move.

-

when they're pressed together in the backseat, thighs almost on top of each other and personal space nonexistent, the question comes back, lingering in mark's mind the way donghyuck tended to make questions do.

the moonlight shows itself, illuminating his hands where they sit in his lap, before disappearing quickly behind the trees.

donghyuck reminds him of the moon. and the sun. and the stars and the ocean and the trees. he sees donghyuck everywhere and maybe that's reason enough on his part. he ducks away because after seeing him in everything, the real thing can be too much.

this train of thought feeds his curiosity even more. it really doesn't help that he can feel the tan boy's eyes trained on him. when he turns to the younger, he instantly meets his eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. 

"hey," mark whispers, and he thinks he sounds just a little (a lot) too nervous to be talking to a kid he grew up alongside.

"hi," the other boy says it naturally, like he wasn't boring holes into mark's face a second ago. "what's up?"

"oh. i had a question." he feels tense and his mouth is so dry.

to make it worse, donghyuck nods at him and the moonlight reflects off the glitter in his self applied eyeshadow.

"so...wha-you didn't actually think i'd hit you," a pause. "did you?" 

the question is vulnerable and the crack in his voice makes it obvious that he's had this on his mind for a while. donghyuck's expression becomes even more unclear and mark furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"i mean, you could've." 

there's no hesitation in his voice when he replies a second later. "i wouldn't do that, hyuck."

mark thinks that donghyuck must know that. of course he knows that, they're best friends, maybe soulmates even.

his curiosity doesn't end there, though. the question has settled on his tongue, rehearsed a billion times over in his head throughout the day.

"what you can't and won't do are two very different things," the younger replies, speaking in that cryptic and alien way he knows mark hates. he almost sounds sarcastic, but mark knows that voice, the voice donghyuck takes when he's teasing the older for his strange (and frankly outdated) slang and "extremely misguided" opinions.

he really wants to ask why. why would donghyuck expect anything like that from him? why would he flinch? and just why is this so important to mark? 

mark breathes in, sharp, quick, like he's making a decision that could result in his own death.

"let me prove it to you."

donghyuck turns to him, looking confused, and raises his eyebrows.

"prove what?" 

mark's breathe hitches. donghyuck is absolutely stunning. and he knows that, has seen that face everyday since he was preteen.

but it's different now, in some unknown way. 

"and how are you going to prove that?"

the challenge in his voice makes blood rush to mark's cheeks and he hopes to god it's not obvious that he's blushing. 

"i-i'll show you at the dorm." 

the rest of the ride back is silent, mark's head and heart racing.

-

when the van comes to a stop, mark practically drags donghyuck inside, not wanting the courage he'd built up in the car to leave him. the other members are left behind as he grabs the younger's hand, pulling him along through the doors and into the elevator. his foot taps the floor anxiously the entire ride up, but his hand hasn't left donghyuck's for a second. 

mark pushes through their front door, wasting no time even looking around the living room and the two, in what feels like a split second, are in their own shared room. 

he kicks his shoes off, lets his bag and jacket drop to the floor unceremoniously and sighs subconsciously, because even in times where he's bundled in nerves like he is now, there's relief in coming home.

when he finally looks at donghyuck, he can practically hear the gears turning in his mind as the other tries to figure out what he's going to do, his shoes still on and his eyes distant. 

mark quickly reminds himself that this could go one of two ways: awful or kind of not awful. 

when mark takes a step closer, donghyuck doesn't move at all, just meets his eyes steadily.

he unzips the younger's jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. the whole room is silent and the atmosphere is fragile, like glass. he doesn't speak, afraid of breaking the delicate feeling in the air, choosing to simply point at donghyuck's shoes. 

he nods, kicking them off and looking back up at mark.

mark takes his hands in his, part of him squealing about this being the second time tonight until he reminds himself that he's about to do something way more insane. 

he takes small steps backwards, donghyuck mirroring him, and when he falls back onto the edge of his bed, donghyuck comes to a stop in front of him. 

there's a little bit of hesitation, because fuck, he's really doing this, before mark is pulling donghyuck into his lap, hands settling on his thighs that straddle either side of him. 

he prays he's not imagining the pink dusting the younger's cheeks.

settling his hand on the back of donghyuck's neck, his eyes fall onto the boy's lips and he mutters a quick "i hope this is okay" before pulling him down and pressing his lips onto the other's.

it's weird for a second because donghyuck's not kissing back and-oh, wait, that's probably a bad sign and i should pull back-but then there are hands gripping his shirt and donghyuck is pressing back into him. 

mark realizes quickly that donghyuck kisses hard, and feverishly, like they're running out of time or something. he decides that he likes that.

they seperate 3 minutes later, a string of saliva between them, and mark marvels at the way donghyuck's cheeks have gone from slightly pink to the color of a fire truck.

"so," he tilts his head, biting his lip to hide a smirk, "did i prove it?" 

donghyuck shakes his head, smiling and pecking his cheek softly (finally) before replying, "sure. but just because you won't punch me doesn't mean i won't punch you!" 

he hits the older male gently on the shoulder for emphasis and they fall into fit of giggles, whispering and laughing themselves to sleep.


End file.
